Grindelia hirsutula

Hairy gum plant is not that hairy or gummy. It's a little herbaceous perennial that grows in the coastal areas of California from Ventura to Napa. Gum plant grows on some very heavy adobe soils and serpentine soils. Common associates are Sidalcea hickmanii anomala, Sidalcea malvaeflora sparsiflora, California Checker Mallow, Sisyrinchium bellum Blue-Eyed Grass,  Zauschneria californica mexicana Common California Fuchsia. The areas are very wet in winter and early spring, toast in summer and fall. In a native garden the butterflies and small birds relish a few of these planting in amongst the Penstemons and Salvias.